Butch Cassidy Rides Again Onscreen

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The last we saw on film it wasn't looking good for Butch Cassidy and his partner. in the 1969 classic "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" they tried to shoot their way out of a standoff against the entire Bolivian army. To be fair, the screen went to black before we could see the likely unfortunate outcome.

But apparently Butch Cassidy is riding again.

The Associated Press is reporting that Sam Shepard will play the real-life LeRoy Parker (alias Butch Cassidy), who famously led the Hole in the Wall Gang. Shepard will ride without Sundance in the film entitled "Blackthorn."

Shooting begins next month, appropriately in Bolivia. The new film plot has Cassidy feeling compelled to commit just one more robbery before he can retire (always an ominous thing to say in movie-land).

Spaniard Mateo Gil, known for his screenplay "The Sea Inside," will be directing. Hopefully with this kind of creative power behind a project, we'll have a better retelling than we had in 1979's "Butch and Sundance: The Early Days" which featured a young Tom Berenger as Butch Cassidy.

Published at 12:21 PM PDT on Mar 24, 2010 | Updated at 11:46 AM PDT on May 30, 2012